The Comic Rack: And the death toll rises…

Over at Newsarma, the coolest and best looking comic book journalist in the universe, Vaneta Rogers recently interviewed Brian Reed about the future of Ms. Marvel. What I read astounded me and infuriated me at the same time. I won’t go over the entire interview with you (that’s why you click the link) but spoilers are abound and they ain’t the good kind. We’ll get into all of that after the jump. If you don’t want to know, then don’t jump and don’t click the link. But, if you like to be forewarned – forge ahead….

For those reading the “Dark Reign” titles over at Marvel probably picked up “Dark Avengers” this week and found out that Carol Danvers aka Ms. Marvel told Norman Osborn to stuff it and left in a huff. Normie, being Normie, then designates Moonstone to be his Ms. Marvel in the aforementioned group. But, the fun doesn’t stop there. It seems Brian Reed, who happens to write the most kick-ass female super-heroine book out right now (Sorry Gail, but right now I’d take Ms. Marvel in a bet over Wonder Woman as hottest and most deadly super-heroine right now – but that is about to change…), will as of Ms. Marvel #35 begin a three issue arc which will be the death of Carol Danvers. As of Ms. Marvel #38, Moonstone not only takes the Ms. Marvel mantle for Dark Avengers but in the signature book as well.

I’m royally pissed off.

Between DC and Marvel, they are killing off more iconic figures than ever. And basically the whole look of both comic universes are dark, dreary, and downright depressing. Now, there are times where the villians need to look like they’re winning and then the heroes rise to the occasion and save the day. That’s the formula and it’s worked for years. Plus we are in a full blown recession and got one foot over the line to a depression. It’s not a happy time, folks (like you needed me to tell you this). The last thing I need is my comic books, which I read for enjoyment, to start killing off iconic characters and changing the landscape, and not for the better.

Batman is out for the count right now (I refuse to believe Bruce Wayne is truly dead), Superman will be off planet for about a year, Wonder Woman is getting replaced by a man, Connor Kent is dead. Bart Allen is dead. Spider Man’s marriage is dead. Doctor Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, the scourge of the Marvel mutant world, the Scarlet Witch, is back, and now Carol Danvers is dead.

Carol’s history is rich within the Marvel Universe, so this is huge news. She’s taken on the name of one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe, lost her powers, regained them with even more power, lost her memory, rose from that to become the field general for the most powerful group of heroes in the Marvel Universe, The Avengers. And let’s be clear, even without powers, Carol Danvers is no joke. She’s military and she will kick your ass without giving it another thought.

She single handidly ran through a major Skrull Armada and basically killed the lot of them. She’s friends with Wolverine, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Captain America, Luke Cage, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and numerous other heroes. The death of Carol Danvers is one of the biggest deaths in the Marvel Universe. And it comes at a time when her comic is one of the best on the market today.

Which means this is another book I’ll be dropping.

I could care less about Dark Reign and Moonstone. Moonstone, at one time, was mildly interesting, but that died quickly. I just don’t need to follow a fake hero in a book trashing the name of a hero I had enormous respect for.

Can we get back to the formula again? Can we get back to kick ass comics where the heroes aren’t picking up their teeth and spitting up blood, bowing at the feet of the newest Universal threat? Can we stop having the heroes getting the crap kicked outta them already? Well, there is Geoff Johns. He, at least, gets it. Just check out Justice Society and Green Lantern. Check out Superman-Secret Origin when it comes out and you’ll see what I mean.

I’ll miss you, Carol. If for nothing else, you were fine as hell and could be counted on when the chips were down.

8 Responses to “The Comic Rack: And the death toll rises…”

There has to be more to her death though. Just coming out and saying, ‘Oh, and by the by, Carol dies’ feels a bit… I don’t know. It’s like Brian Reed has worked extremely hard for the last three years trying to make Carol achieve her goal of being the ‘best of the best’ in her solo series, she’s led the Mighty Avengers, she’s been a fairly major player in all the event comics of the last few years, and now they’re just gonna shelve her and replace her with some random? I don’t quite buy it, somehow.

I would auggest to read the Newsarama article. Also, to be fair, it is Brian Reed and it is a three issue arc so I want to believe Carol will go out in a blaze of glory. Plus, Moonstone isn’t a random, she does have a fairly rich history also, it’s just that I’m not interested in following her in solo stories. She’s always been an A minus bit player but mostly a B-character. She just doesn’t make me say, “Wow, what’s Moonstone up to?”. In Brian’s capable hands, that may change, but I’m just not up to going all in this time. I’m having a hard enough time with DC roasting and toasting Batman…

I do not think she will die. It is all part of the “spy” buisness.
“Carol Danvers” will die in public way, but her character will still live. Simply put, she will fake her own death in #37.

Consider the following:
1. In the preview to #35 we see her getting another identity.
2. In #31 we got her visiting her parents and clain that she is lucky for losing her emotions, because she wouldn’t be able to commence with a plan. She knows that this is the last meeting with them.
3. Reed said in his board that he is going to build a recurring villain for Ms. Marvel, even before this interview. Will this villain be moonstone?
4. Reed promises in the interview a meeting between the 2 girls, and ends with “everything can happen in comics”.
5. Bendis says in an interview the same day that “Carol Danvers will play a big part in New Avengers”. It is not probable that he put her in for no reason in issue #48. She is there for more than a few months.
6. As jonnilicious said, something is not right with this kind of announcement two months before the actual comics.

All in all, preety solid evidence, I think. She may not be the start of Ms. Marvel (for a while) but the girl we know as Carol Danvers will not go out in the next few months. She will still be undercover and active as a new avenger and will probably return to kick some Moonsong ass.

I find it interesting that when Carol Danvers was revived a couple years ago by Brian Bendis and Brian Reed, people didn’t care about her. Now they do. Somebody somewhere achieved something. As for the future… I would just recommend you keep reading. I certainly will. And thanks for the compliment. 🙂

Goblin9, you make some good points and this could be the age-old swerve that “Carol Danvers” is “dead” and all Carol does is adopt her new identity. I will also note that right now, for whatever reason, Carol is either powerless or acting powerless and that could change at any time.

Now remember, although Carol did get her memories back from Rogue, what she was admitting is that the emotional attachment was lost and this was just a matter of respect that she showed up.

I’m just tired of all the replacing of heroes and all this other stuff. I long for the days of one and done – a single episode. A couple of episodes where in the end, the heroes win outright. I’m getting to the point where I can see the validity of Salvation Run – sticking the villains on a planet and letting them just run wild…

Vaneta, thanks for reading. You’re welcome for the compliment. I like your interviews because you ask the questions that I want to know and you react the same way we fans do. The love of comics shows.

As for Ms. Marvel – I agree with the assessment. Although I’ve followed Carol for years as her first incarnation of Ms. Marvel, to Binary, and everything else, I see your point.

And I give Brian Reed all the cred in the world. He definitely achieved something to make people not only respect Carol but to make her a leader and feared advisary.

I’ll keep tabs on what is happening and if things turn, I can always get the graphic novel (the nature of the business nowadays). I’m just tired of the crossovers and universe encompassing deals in the comic universes. Enough.

I won’t even start as to how in the world She Hulk got cancelled again. I loved that book…

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